04-The Letter That Mom Left Behind

He Changning did not bother with the debate in the living room as he comforted Aunt Qin and thought about the letter that his Mom left behind before she committed suicide.

The letter was passed to He Changning by Aunt Qin when he turned twelve. It said that this letter was to be kept by Aunt Qin until the appropriate time came. The majority of the letter’s content was about how inadequate she was as a mother. Yet, because of how little will she had to live on, she could only pray that her son would continue to live a better life while enjoying the family warmth that she could not feel anymore. In that letter, his mom did not complain much about his father’s betrayal, with only subtle hints that she was too naive to simplify every problem that she faced, thinking that love would balance everything out. It went on about how she did not truly understand a wife’s role in a relationship, and did not do well in maintaining a good rapport with her mother-in-law. She hoped that her son would be a different person. That unlike her, he would treat his partner with sincerity, include that person in his life, love them and be considerate of them.

As he recalled the words in his mom’s letter, He Changning felt horrible. He could not understand what kind of pain and torture his mother went through back then. To the point where she would continuously remind her son that, should the day come when he made a promise with that special someone, he must stay true to his words and never let that person down no matter what. Perhaps what she wanted the most back then was his father’s understanding and to be his one and only. But, she was destined to be disappointed – less than half a year after her passing Congmin entered the Yin family together with her three children. Just like that, she became the family’s lady in charge. His father’s face was filled with happiness, he only had that woman and her three children in his eyes, pampering and loving them. His wife’s recent passing was long forgotten in the back of his mind.

What made He Changning really puzzled was the last paragraph of his mother’s letter. The letter said that He Changning must stay with the Yin family until the day he got married, and that if he were to marry a girl he loved then there was no need to inform the He family. He really couldn’t make sense of what his mother was trying to tell him. According to Aunt Qin, back then his mother had already severed ties with the He family, hence she rarely mentioned anything about them. On the few occasions she did mention them, she claimed that she was no longer entitled to talk about her family.

The reason why He Changning’s surname was He, and not Yin, was probably his mother’s way of remembrance and repayment towards the He family. But He Changning had sincerely never thought of contacting the He family at all. Regardless of if he were to marry a wife or to marry a man like how it was now.

As he returned to his room, Aunt Qin sat in front of He Changning as she sobbed quietly, “Changning, what should we do? Are you really going to marry a man as his wife? If your mother were to know about this, she’d be so heartbroken. My dear child, what are we going to do? Aunt Qin couldn’t even bear to say anything harsh to a child like you, how could they be so heartless and push you into a living hell for the sake of their own position and wealth? My poor child, what are we going to do? Minglan, please bless Changning, don’t let them ruin him just like that. *sobs* My dear child, what should we do, what should we do? Aunt Qin is so useless, I can’t help you with anything. I don’t even have any rights to say anything fair for you while they insult you so grievously. Changning, Changning…” the more Aunt Qin said, the harder she cried.

He Changning panicked and pulled some tissues out to wipe off Aunt Qin’s tears as he comforted her, “Aunt Qin, don’t cry. If you jeopardize your health because of that, I’ll feel really bad.”

He Changning’s eyes were also brimming with tears – Aunt Qin really doted on him. She did not have any children in her entire life, hence treating him like her own son. For the ten odd years since his mother’s passing, Aunt Qin had always been the one taking care of his well being. Their relationship was no different from a bond between a biological mother and son, or even closer compared to many other average family’s relationship. This was why Aunt Qin was so heartbroken seeing Changning treated that way.

After stabilizing his own emotions, Changning held Aunt Qin’s hands in his own, “Aunt Qin, you don’t need to feel upset. Maybe things weren’t as bad as you thought? Did you forgot what my mom mentioned in that last letter? You’re also aware that if it wasn’t because of my mom’s last wishes, I would have left here long ago. Now that I can get rid of the Yin family, the method of leaving doesn’t matter that much.”

Aunt Qin snuffled a little, “Even so, it shouldn’t be in such a way, that’s too ridiculous. Moreover, what about your future?” The mention of it roused the sadness in her heart again, “*sobs* You’re just twenty years old, just a small step into your future, and now it’s all ruined by them… I can never face your mother when I die, Changning, my poor child…”

Aunt Qin was truly heartbroken; witnessing how this child had grown up over the years, she knew how outstanding he was. He Changning was not only good-looking, but also brimming with talent, knowledgeable and displayed exceptional excellence in his language skills. Seeing how he had treated her like his own mother, how could she not dote on and love this child?

Aunt Qin’s tears fell onto their connecting hands, scalding Changning’s heart at the same time, “Aunt Qin,” he said while he used his long, slender fingers to wipe the tears off his Aunt Qin’s face, “You must live a long life, otherwise I won’t be able to eat your food. What if I starve myself to death?”

Aunt Qin gave him an annoyed look. “Can’t you see the situation, yet you’re thinking about food?” with that, her tears stopped.

He Changning laughed cheekily, “My beautiful Aunt Qin, don’t shed anymore tears, you’ll grow old a lot faster.”

Aunt Qin sourly poked Changning’s forehead. “Forgotten your age? How improper can you get?”

He Changning then coaxed Aunt Qin to divert her away from the sadness, and then slowly analyzed the current situation. “Aunt Qin, don’t get so upset for now, listen to me,” he paused, “The Shang family is an aristocratic family. According to what I know, they do well on both legal and illegal businesses. Especially in the business community – they’re the stable, reigning position. Yet such a family is letting their young master marry a male wife, don’t you think it’s strange?”

Aunt Qin pondered over it. “Don’t tell me their young master is a pervert?” The thought of it made Aunt Qin’s cold hand tremble harder. “If that’s really the case, then what should we do? Changning, how about you just run away, run as far as you can.” And she immediately tried to get up and pack his clothes.

He Changning quickly pulled Aunt Qin’s hands, “Aunt Qin, don’t get nervous, sit down and listen to me.” As he got Aunt Qin to sit down, he continued, “I don’t know if the Shang family’s young master is a pervert or not, but what I know is, this kind of family structure sure has their own internal battles within the family where they fight and scheme against one another. Letting a man marry a male wife, unless the young master is sexually oriented that way, then it must be the outcome of the family’s battle. As to who he marries, it probably doesn’t matter that much; it just needs to be a man.”

Hearing all that made Aunt Qin even more worried. “Then, if you get married into that household, won’t you be in a more dangerous position? This kind of big family struggle isn’t what people like us are able to deal with. What if the entire family looks down on you? Then how can you survive your time with them?”

“Aunt Qin, you still don’t get it? My marriage to them is nothing but a show. Maybe it’s to shut someone up. Since this matter where the Shang family heir has to marry a male wife is quite well known, if they make things difficult for me and outsiders get a hold of that news, it’ll surely cause damage to the Shang family’s reputation. Hence, even if it’s just for the sake of the family reputation, they wouldn’t be harsh to me. Once the time limit is up, I can just leave that place. So, when the time comes, I’ll bring Aunt Qin and leave this city. We’ll live a great life somewhere else. What do you think?”